But could it be possible that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Vice President Dick Cheney share a common ancestor?

Cheney's wife Lynne says yes.

In an interview on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Cheney said that in the course of researching her husband's genealogy for her new book, "Blue Skies, No Fences," she discovered that the two public figures share an ancestor eight generations ago.

"Think about this," Mrs. Cheney said. "This is such an amazing American story that one ancestor, a man that came to Maryland, could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths as Dick's and Barack Obama's."

Mrs. Cheney's spokeswoman Ginny Justice gave CNN's Ed Henry more details, saying the two unlikely relatives are related through a French Huguenot named Mareen Duvall. Cheney and Obama are both descendants of her.

According to Justice, the vice president is related to her through "the first" Richard Cheney, who came to America in the 1650's. His granddaughter married Samuel Duvall, son of Mareen Duvall.

But is blood thicker than the partisan waters of Washington? Apparently not.

Even though Obama is related to her husband, Mrs. Cheney said she is not supporting the Illinois Democrat's White House bid.

Reacting to the news, Obama's campaign spokesman Bill Burton told CNN's Dana Bash with tongue in cheek, "Obviously, Dick Cheney is sort of the black sheep of the family."

But Obama's family ties to the Bush administration don't stop with Cheney. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times last September, Obama is also an 11th cousin of the president himself. The two share a 17th century Massachusetts relative.

"Yea, Bush has more class in his pinky than Obama has in all of his family tree."

Incredible. Is that the same classy Bush who can't find one person to verify he actually served in Alabama, but refused to denounce the not-so-Swift Boat Veterans? Is that the same classy Bush who told us Rumsfeld would stay and "we've never been stay the course"? Is that the same classy Bush who read "The Pet Goat" while hundreds of Americans died and played air guitar while Katrina victims suffered? If that's anyone's definition of class, I hope Obama has NONE at all.

All US presidents except Martin Van Buren are related to one another 20 generations back, according to my family genealogist. We have made a poster of this and as a US HIstory teacher, I am double checking it. For more info contact brock_davignon@yahoo.com